Some glimpses of Soviet psychology.

"Our major purpose was to see psychology at work in a variety of experimental laboratories at institutes, universities, and hospitals and, through conferences with Soviet psychologists, to learn as much as possible about their spheres of scientific interest, their aims, problems, theories, instruments, and techniques." Major subtopics are: How Psychological Research is Organized; Basic Tenets of Soviet Psychologists; Some Examples of Current Investigations (Experimental Studies of Higher Nervous Processes; Studies of Voluntary Activity, Work Operations, Productivity; Studies of Higher Mental Processes). "Wherever we went we found dedicated Soviet psychologists fully set to tell us about what they had last done, were then doing, and were planning to do next. They were more intent on reporting their performances in research than in debating their theories and hypotheses." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of The Human Subject in the Psychological Laboratory.

Reviews the book, The Human Subject in the Psychological Laboratory by Irwin Silverman (see record 1978-20076-000). In this book, the author presents his assessment of the laboratory experiment following years of research on the social psychology of the psychological experiment. Silverman makes his views clear from the outset: the laboratory is "an excellent place to study laboratory behavior; but by virtue of this it is suited for little else", and he relentlessly pursues this thesis throughout the book. Through the seeming enormity of evidence and Silverman's constant attention to his thesis, the reader is brought to the precipice from which the laboratory experiment must surely fall. The uncritical reader will find Silverman's arguments well-written and effectively woven together in a relatively concise, easily readable manner. Any criticisms of the book must focus on errors of omission rather than problems of style or misrepresentation of fact. The important questions seem to concern a need to better understand how an experimenter can conduct meaningful research with human subjects. This understanding will not come about from proclaiming that other methods are better or from research which has only the objective of documenting the inadequacies of current methods. More than anything else Silverman's book suggests the need for a new direction for increased research on the social psychology of the psychological experiment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some notes on education and psychology in the Soviet Union.

Major topic headings are: Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, University of Moscow Psychology Department, Aptitude and Achievement Testing. "Most of the Russian psychologists with whom I talked seemed interested in the exchange of books, tests, and other published materials with American psychologists… . On the surface there appears to be a wide gulf between Russian and American psychology… . Russian psychology seems to have its goals fairly well circumscribed by communist doctrine, by the Soviet attitude toward heredity, and its resulting concept of the individual." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The roles of psychological associations.

"Certainly a strong national association seems important to the continuing growth and development of psychology as a profession. Functions relating to publication, ethics of the total profession, education and training, legislation, communication between large and small groups, promotional activities, and many others… can best be carried forward by a national level through the agency of a central office." National and state associations handle most of the problems of professionalization. Informal socializing seems to be an important satisfaction achieved through the regional association. "Basically, this paper is a plea to each psychologist to become an active participant in all three kinds of psychological associations." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2AJ41L. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimental research with children in the Soviet Union: Report of a visit.

"In late June 1959, I visited several centers of psychological research in Moscow and Leningrad." Major sections are: Use of S-R Rather than R-R Research Designs, Hypothesis Testing, Use of Infants and Younger Children in Experimental Research, Interdisciplinary Cooperation, and Stress on Practical Applications. "I was surprised by the interest value, the quality, and the quantity of Soviet research with children." There is "an intercultural problem in semantics that deserves consideration in the interests of better communication and hence better appreciation of Soviet contributions to the literature in experimental and child psychology." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychologists and psychological services in urban police departments--A national survey.

The purpose of the present study was to survey urban police departments and determine the amount and type of psychologist involvement. The major aims of the study were to ascertain the number of psychologists employed, the characteristics of these psychologists, and the services they provided. One hundred seventy-four copies of a questionnaire were sent to cities throughout the nation. The survey assessed, in broad terms, the role that psychologists and psychological services have in police departments today. A 74% return (N = 130) of the questionnaires was obtained within 3 months of the initial mailing. Results show that the more populated an area, the more psychologists employed: Only 11% and 10%, respectively, for the two smaller urban groups, but 18% and 39% for the two larger groups (in ascending order). Full-time and part-time psychologists are employed in approximately equal numbers, but, on a national scale and for all population groups, neither is used as frequently as consultants. The majority (74%) of psychologists employed are at the PhD level. Most have a clinical background, though training in counseling or industrial psychology was significantly involved. Two points represent major findings of the study: the use of consultants rather than full-time employees, and the relatively great amount of time spent in applicant screening. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychological impacts of global climate change.

An appreciation of the psychological impacts of global climate change entails recognizing the complexity and multiple meanings associated with climate change; situating impacts within other social, technological, and ecological transitions; and recognizing mediators and moderators of impacts. This article describes three classes of psychological impacts: direct (e.g., acute or traumatic effects of extreme weather events and a changed environment); indirect (e.g., threats to emotional well-being based on observation of impacts and concern or uncertainty about future risks); and psychosocial (e.g., chronic social and community effects of heat, drought, migrations, and climate-related conflicts, and postdisaster adjustment). Responses include providing psychological interventions in the wake of acute impacts and reducing the vulnerabilities contributing to their severity; promoting emotional resiliency and empowerment in the context of indirect impacts; and acting at systems and policy levels to address broad psychosocial impacts. The challenge of climate change calls for increased ecological literacy, a widened ethical responsibility, investigations into a range of psychological and social adaptations, and an allocation of resources and training to improve psychologists' competency in addressing climate change–related impacts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

International cooperation in psychological research.

"The United Nations Assembly has designated 1965, the 20th anniversary of the UN, as International Cooperation Year (ICY)." A 3 man subcommittee of the APA Committee on Psychology in National and International Affairs met with Eugene Jacobson representing the APA Committee on International Relations in Psychology and suggested "4 distinctive categories of projects on which psychologists could work." (1) Cross-National Involvement in General Psychological Problems. (2) Comparative Cross-National Research. (3) Psychological Research on Universal Human Problems. (4) Research on International Tensions. "The APA will play an active facilitating role by maintaining a directory of projects and by providing information concerning work instigated by the ICY." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A guide for establishing a practice in police preemployment postoffer psychological evaluations.

This article provides a guide that focuses on ethics and competence issues for psychologists considering a specialization in conducting police preemployment postoffer psychological evaluations (PEPOPEs). The discussion first addresses the importance of relevant training and practical experiences, involvement in pertinent professional associations, and adherence to rigorous standards and guidelines for conducting this specialized form of assessment. The specific components of a comprehensive assessment are then enumerated and discussed. The article concludes with a consideration of ethical dilemmas and challenges involved in this realm of psychological practice, and a vignette highlights some possible pitfalls for psychologists who are insufficiently prepared for conducting PEPOPEs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological training facilities in Austria and West Germany.

Three tables summarize data on 19 universities in Austria and West Germany. With regard to most of these institutions, such details as names of faculty members, areas of department specialization, admission requirements for American students, credit for studies in the U. S. A., Ph. D. residence requirements, clinical training facilities, areas of clinical training, U. S. psychological journals available, and number of Ph. D. candidates in 1953 are provided. Some characteristics which distinguish activities at these universities as compared with American universities are indicated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of psychological science in promoting environmental quality: Introduction.

With the advent of environmental psychology in the late 1960s, psychologists have taken a prominent role in understanding such problems as exemplified by their examination of the processes underlying the perception of environmental quality. This and related research can have impact on two critical problems: (a) preservation of the biosphere in which we live, and (b) amelioration of the sometimes poor quality of our everyday life existence. The work to date of contemporary environmental psychologists provides a powerful beginning. However, our theoretical perspective, namely, the organismic-developmental systems approach to the general study of the experience and action of persons-in-environments (Demick & Wapner, 1989; Wapner, 1987; Wapner & Demick, in press-a, in press-b), suggests that one way (among others) that psychological science might contribute to solving the specific problem of promoting environmental quality is by considering, in a holistic manner, the relations among levels of integration (biological, psychological, and sociocultural) as well as between experience (cognition, affect, and valuation) and action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educational facilities and financial assistance for graduate students in psychology: 1957-1958.

164 institutions with graduate programs in psychology are listed, with information supplied by the respective departments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experimenter outcome-orientation and the results of the psychological experiment.

This review considers evidence bearing on the question of whether an E's orientation (expectations and wishes) toward the results of his research may partially determine those results. The evidence is drawn from everyday life, medicine, clinical psychology, survey research, and experimental behavioral research. (43 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A theoretical approach to psychological movement.

"An approach to psychological movement, or change, has been presented. Stress has been placed on the role of therapy in accelerating movement. Earlier investigations have afforded the basis for currently offering a 'contrast' phenomenon to explain certain aspects of movement and to link the fields of (formal) education and therapy. Implications of these and other fields are noted." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Galloping sophistry: A rat in the lab is worth two in the dump.

The author comments on the work of G. G. Gallup and S. D. Suarez, specifically focusing on animal rights issues. Gallup and Suarez argue for the status quo in research practices involving nonhuman animals; while K. J. Shapiro and others take a reformist position that the suffering of and the reliance on animals in psychology laboratories can and ought to be diminished. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The place of observation in biological and psychological science.

Historical origins and mutual contributions of biology and psychology are considered. The author concludes that "… psychology students should, as a part of their training, have more emphasis placed on the technique of objective observation." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educational facilities and financial assistance for graduate students in psychology: 1955-1956.

Several educational institutions offering graduate work in psychology are alphabetically listed and following each entry, the institution address, a statement of the number of fellowships, scholarships and assistantships available, tuition, stipends, VA internship programs, and similar information. An extensive table specifies requirements for admission to graduate programs in psychology at each institution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)